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English grammar
English grammar — C2
Grammar explanations, examples and common mistakes for CEFR C2.
English grammar — C2
Register Shifting and Code-Switching
Grammatical markers of formality: precision, distance, and audience
Deliberate shifts of register: changing the voice while keeping the point
Sentence complexity appropriate to register
Marked and Unmarked Word Order
Unmarked and marked Theme: choosing where to begin a message
Fronting an object: contrast, cohesion and rhetorical emphasis
The quality first, its bearer second: predicate-first structures
Grammatical Metaphor
Nominalisation: making a process the topic without changing the facts
Turning action nouns into clauses
Adjectival and adverbial grammatical metaphor
Archaisms and Formal Residues
Subjunctive remnants in fixed expressions
Archaic pronouns and verb forms: read accurately, stylize deliberately
Legal and ceremonial archaisms: meaning without unnecessary solemnity
Colloquial Grammar in Sophisticated Use
Sentence fragments: controlled emphasis, rhythm and a conversational voice
Question tags and hedges: form, speaker stance and responses
Left and right dislocation: topics, comments and clarification
Parallelism and Antithesis
Grammatical Parallelism: Form, Clarity, and Accuracy of Meaning
Antithesis: clear contrast without distorting meaning
Isocolon: balanced parallel parts · C2
Tricolon and Climax
The power of three: tricolon
Ascending tricolon: three steps towards the strongest point
Anticlimax: a grand beginning, an ordinary ending
Anacoluthon and Deliberate Disruption
Anacoluthon: deliberately changing structure mid-sentence
Aposiopesis: deliberate incompleteness · C2
Parenthetical interruption: digressing and returning to the main point
Periodic and Loose Sentences
The periodic sentence: the main point comes last
Cumulative sentences: the main point first, then the details
Combining periodic and loose sentences: rhythm and emphasis
Zeugma and Syllepsis
Zeugma: one word, several connections
Syllepsis: one word, two readings
Zeugma: one verb, two meanings and a pointed ending
Clausal Ellipsis
Ellipsis in comparative clauses
Ellipsis after auxiliary verbs
Situational ellipsis: saying less while preserving the meaning that matters
Sluicing and Fragment Answers
Sluicing: a wh-remnant instead of repeating the question
Fragment answers: a short phrase as a complete reply
Sprouting: sluicing without an explicit correlate
Substitution with So, Do, One, Not
Clausal Substitution with So and Not: when so and not replace an entire thought
Verbal substitution with do: when do/does/did replace a whole verb phrase
Nominal substitution with one/ones: replacing a noun phrase
Gapping and Stripping
Gapping: omitting the verb in coordinated clauses
Stripping: reducing a clause to one remnant
Limits of gapping: preserving a clear parallel structure
Epistemic vs Deontic vs Dynamic Modality
Epistemic modality: inference, obligation, and ability in the same forms
Deontic modality: permission, obligation and prohibition
Dynamic modality: ability and willingness
Evidentiality Strategies in English
Sensory evidence: what you perceived and what you infer from appearance, sound or smell
Marking reported information and other people’s words
Markers of inference and deduction: showing that a claim comes from evidence
Modal Remoteness and Hypotheticality
Past forms for a hypothetical present
Continuous Forms for Cautious Requests and Suggestions
Degrees of hypotheticality
Modality in Retrospect: Should Have, Could Have, Might Have
Should have / ought to have: criticism, regret, and expectations about the past
Could have / might have: unrealised possibilities and past speculation
Must have / can't have: deduction about the past
Garden Path Sentences and Ambiguity Resolution
Structural ambiguity and parsing
Attachment ambiguity: what does the modifier belong to?
How to Eliminate Ambiguity and Preserve the Intended Meaning
Heavy NP Shift and Extraposition
Heavy noun phrase shift
Subject-clause extraposition: dummy it and the clause at the end
Extraposition from a noun phrase: a modifier separated from its noun
Multiple Embedding and Centre-Embedding
Right-branching embedding
Centre embedding and processing limits
Managing embedding depth in writing
Pseudo-clefts and Reverse Pseudo-clefts
Wh-clefts, or pseudo-clefts: What … is …
Reversed pseudocleft sentences
All-clefts and thing-clefts
Conversational Implicature
Grice's Maxims and Their Violations (Flouting)
Scalar implicature
Particularised and generalised implicature
Irony, Sarcasm, and Understatement
Verbal irony and sarcasm: words, context, and the real evaluation
Litotes and understatement: affirming through negation
Meiosis: deliberate understatement
Indirect Speech Acts
Questions as requests and commands
Statements used as requests
Established indirectness: Can you…, Would you mind…, I was wondering if…
Politeness Strategies and Face Theory
Negative politeness: reducing the pressure of a request
Positive politeness: building solidarity
Indirect hints: off-record strategies
Presupposition and Accommodation
Presupposition triggers
Presupposition and negation: the negation test and corrective negation
Accommodation: accepting unstated presuppositions
Authorial Voice and Stance
First person versus impersonal forms
Evaluative language and stance markers
Strategic hedging and boosting: calibrating the strength of a claim
Concession-Counterclaim Structures
The concession–counterargument move
Gradual concession: from partial to complete
Multi-step argument patterns
Precision in Academic Quantification
Precise and approximate quantification
Precise quantification: hedges, numbers, and limits
Quantifying comparisons and superlatives
Cohesive Chains and Lexical Cohesion
Reference chains: pronouns, demonstratives, and synonyms
Lexical cohesion through collocations
Patterns of reiteration: repetition, synonymy and superordinate terms
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